{4.5/5} “We’re on the brink of an adventure, children. Don’t spoil it with too many questions.” Mary Poppins Returns, released in 2018 Michael Banks is behind on his loan payments since his wife died, and the bank is going to foreclose if he doesn’t come up with entire loan amount. He and his sister Jane […]

{4.5/5} “I just want to be upfront and say that I visually enjoy you.” Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, released in 2018 Sophie has fixed up the hotel in Greece that her mother fell in love with. She’s throwing a big party to open it. Her mom has passed away but everyone else will […]

{5/5} “No, Jamal. You be trippin’.” La La Land, released in 2016 Mia is trying to become an actress but so far her auditions aren’t going very well. Sebastian is a jazz pianist who keeps playing things his boss doesn’t want to hear and getting fired. Mia hears Sebastian play and thinks it’s amazing but […]

{4.5/5} “You do know that you are talking in rhyme, don’t you?” The Lorax, released in 2012 The Once-ler cut down a tree to make a thneed. People loved the thneed and they wanted more. The Lorax spoke for the trees — after speaking with him, the Once-ler promised he wouldn’t cut down any more […]

I went to FASS’s annual performance, this one titled “Who’s Afraid of the FASS?” FASS stands for Faculty, Alumni, Staff and Students. It’s an organization at the University of Waterloo that reconstitutes itself each year to put on a musical. This year’s theme was that we were watching a TV show investigating various claims of […]

{5/5} “The world is a mess and I just… need to rule it.” Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, released in 2008 Dr. Horrible is trying to get into the Evil League of Evil — he has a letter of condemnation from the deputy mayor, so he thinks he’ll get in this year. In the meantime he […]

{4/5} “I was raised to be charming, not sincere.” Into the Woods, released in 2014 The baker and his wife discover that the reason they can’t have a child is because the witch who lives next door has cursed the baker. But the witch will lift the curse if they find four items by the […]

{4/5} “The weakest point in the gulag is over there, by the fourth wall.” Muppets Most Wanted, released in 2014 Dominic Badguy offers to be the Muppets’ agent and suggests they do a world tour. Badguy is actually working with Constantine, the world’s most dangerous frog. Constantine arranges to have Kermit arrested and then impersonates […]

{5/5} “The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.” My Fair Lady, released in 1964 Professor Henry Higgins boasts that he can take flower seller Eliza Doolittle, teach her to speak proper English, and then pass her off as a duchess. Although it’s a […]

{3.5/5} “I know there’s no other woman… no flesh-and-blood woman. But I can’t fight this Lady Luck of yours, this fancy queen in her green felt dress.” Show Boat, released in 1951 Gaylord, a gambler, and Magnolia, a show boat captain’s daughter, fall in love — Gaylord can’t help gambling, though. When it’s revealed that […]